Free cycle shuttle set for £2.2bn Thames tunnel

Cyclists will be able to use a shuttle service when using a new £2.2bn tunnel under the River Thames when it opens next month, Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed.

Opening on 7 April, the Silvertown Tunnel is 1.4km (just under one mile) long and will link Newham and the Greenwich Peninsula.

TfL says the Cycle Shuttle Service will be able to carry a wide range of cycles and feature silver and blue branding to distinguish the vehicles from the regular bus network.

The service, which will be free to use for the first year, will operate every 12 minutes every day from 06:30 to 21:30.

The bikes should be no longer than 2.14 metres (7ft), no wider than 0.76m (2ft 6ins) and no higher than 1.4m (4ft 7ins) at the handlebar, and weigh less than 300kg (660lb) including the rider and any belongings being carried.

E-bikes, as well as Santander Cycles and third-party hire bikes, will also be allowed on the service.

It will have two stops, one on each side of the river, with the north stop located on Seagull Lane close to Royal Victoria DLR station, and the south stop located on Millennium Way near the junction with Old School Close.

Pedestrians will not be allowed to use the service.

Lorna Murphy, director of buses at TfL, said: "We have designed this service to support as many different cycle designs as possible within the physical space available, and we look forward to seeing Londoners using it once the Silvertown Tunnel opens."

Stagecoach London's managing director, Paul Lynch, said the company had been getting its drivers and buses ready.

"This new bus service simply means that cyclists can also benefit from the important new transport link under the river, and we're pleased to be entrusted with providing it by TfL."

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